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THE OBJECTIVE

Each year, the Cook County (Illinois) benefits office gives the county's 26,000 employees a chance to review - and perhaps change - their medical and dental insurance plans. The Rodgers Group continues to work with the county's benefits team to design, write, produce and package communication that reminds employees of the benefits available to them, provides information regarding their choices for a new plan year, and facilitates the enrollment process.

We have provided benefits communication services to Cook County since 1991. (In fact, we won several IABC awards for the way in which we linked benefits communication for active and retired county employees.) We have re-designed the package over the years to drive employees toward increasingly efficient enrollment procedures - from paper forms to automated telephone enrollment, and in 2003, to online enrollment through the county's own web site. Our ongoing relationships with the county benefits team, its various insurance providers and other consultants allow us to efficiently prepare a variety of materials including a complete benefits overview (with charts comparing the various plans side-by-side), posters, calendars, enrollment forms and more. In recent years, our communication packet has been expanded to include materials that departmental benefits coordinators can use on a year-round basis to facilitate enrollment for newly hired employees.

Consolidating information regarding numerous options into a single, well-organized communication package has helped the county reduce questions, phone calls, paperwork and - most importantly - cost. Our communication pieces also have proven to be easily transferred to the county's web site, paving the way for our relationship with Cook County's benefits team to grow into a new communication venue.